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Scripture: Jeremiah 14:17-22; Psalm 79:8-9,11,13; Matthew 13:35-43
Scroll to the end to read the referenced scriptures
Matthew now allegorizes line by line of the parable of the tares (weeds) and the good seed (the wheat). Every person and action is related to someone specifically. The parable normally had just one main point which was being emphasized by Jesus. This shows us that besides Jesus, the redactor, Matthew, enters the full picture of a Gospel.
There are, as the Biblical Commission teaches us, three stages to Gospel development: the actual time and sayings of Jesus, the preaching and proclaiming of the Gospel orally, and finally, the inspired gathering of the content into a carefully crafted Gospel by Matthew and the other evangelists. We may be speaking of the two generations after the death of Jesus in the allegorizing of the parable that was first presented in its simplicity from stage one.
Jesus is identified as the farmer and Son of Man (one of the two basic Christological titles in Mark and Matthew, namely, Son of Man and Son of God). The field is the world and its secular perspective; the good seed is the wheat representing the citizens of the kingdom of heaven (the just ones); the tares are the unrepentant sinners and those who refuse to hear the word of God or to receive it in their hearts. Since we may be speaking of the Church of Matthew's time, that is around 80-90 A.D. The parable may also mean that the tares are apostates or those who have left the community. Matthew ends the parable with a more lively and colorful description of the just, who are like the shining stars and the unrighteous who are thrown into the fiery furnace!
Exegetes and scripture scholars state that the final redactor (probably Matthew) adapted the words of Jesus to the pressing problems of the Matthean church or community. We realize that his was a community of converted Jews and of Gentiles trying to live together in harmony. Jesus' message had to be applied to the second and third generation after his death. We thus see, that allegorizing the text of the parable was one way of looking at their problems. It made sense to do this for the sake of the people he is addressing in his time.
Gospels and scriptural writings thus have various levels within them. Not everything in them is literally written; John uses more of a symbolic approach with three layers of meaning at times. By reading only on a literal level, we are deprived of the full message intended by the inspired writer and by the Holy Spirit, who is also involved in the development of the scriptures.
Not being scholars ourselves, we do not need to separate ourselves from those layers that are touched by faith through the Holy Spirit working within our hearts. We often are rewarded by the free gift of faith and our meditating on the truths of faith that are given in the texts of the evangelists.
Matthew does order much of what he has received from the oral tradition and from St. Mark. We are fortunate that he is so precise and orderly in giving us the five discourses of Jesus. Our parables are in the third discourse. His themes give us his theology and his point of view.
As readers and those dedicated to meditating on the word of God, Matthew helps us to appreciate the giftedness of the evangelists who were not simply parroting what Jesus said and did. By our studying the commentaries and then reflecting and praying the scriptures, we arrive at new insights and new motivations. All of these are worthwhile to do; we will be rewarded by their stimulating developments within our hearts and minds.
Here is a good example from the scholar who wrote about our parables: "Weeds left unchecked can choke the wheat (v.7), so they must be kept under control even if not eliminated entirely. The church needs constant reformation and positive action, including the quest for holiness, yet must avoid unrealistic purism or angelism. This is the elusive but much needed balance. A single parable cannot say everything. The parable of the dragnet (vv 47-50) makes the same point, that the kingdom is a mixed body; patience is necessary, and one must leave the sifting to God." (Benedict T. Viviano, O.P. in the New Jerome Biblical Commentary, p.656, 657). Amen.
Scripture:
Jeremiah 14:17-22
17 "Speak this word to them:
" 'Let my eyes overflow with tears
night and day without ceasing;
for my virgin daughtermy people
has suffered a grievous wound,
a crushing blow.
18 If I go into the country,
I see those slain by the sword;
if I go into the city,
I see the ravages of famine.
Both prophet and priest
have gone to a land they know not.'"
19 Have you rejected Judah completely?
Do you despise Zion?
Why have you afflicted us
so that we cannot be healed?
We hoped for peace
but no good has come,
for a time of healing
but there is only terror.
20 O LORD, we acknowledge our wickedness
and the guilt of our fathers;
we have indeed sinned against you.
21 For the sake of your name do not despise us;
do not dishonor your glorious throne.
Remember your covenant with us
and do not break it.
22 Do any of the worthless idols of the nations bring rain?
Do the skies themselves send down showers?
No, it is you, O LORD our God.
Therefore our hope is in you,
for you are the one who does all this.
Psalm 79:8-9,11,13
8 Do not hold against us the sins of the fathers;
may your mercy come quickly to meet us,
for we are in desperate need.
9 Help us, O God our Savior,
for the glory of your name;
deliver us and forgive our sins
for your name's sake.
11 May the groans of the prisoners come before you;
by the strength of your arm
preserve those condemned to die.
13 Then we your people, the sheep of your pasture,
will praise you forever;
from generation to generation
we will recount your praise.
Matthew 13:35-43
35 So was fulfilled what was spoken through the prophet:
"I will open my mouth in parables,
I will utter things hidden since the creation of the world."[a]
36 Then he left the crowd and went into the house. His disciples came to him and said, "Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field."
37 He answered, "The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. 38 The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, 39 and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.
40 "As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. 41 The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. 42 They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.
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